With the right scholarships, academic work ethic, and if you're a NY state resident, it is one of the top schools in the country.

ESF is fairly cheap by most standards - you get an education you could get from a bigger college for a state college price, as well as access to everything at SU, if you so please. However, if you have a broad range of interests and aren't just narrowly focused on the environment, that access to SU seems almost essential. You won't really find anything other than that on the ESF campus. Centennial is insanely nice, but the price is huge (somewhere around the 6th highest room and board in the nation, I think). If I wasn't getting most of the money from financial aid, I wouldn't be able to afford living here. And getting an off-campus apartment with a few friends is definitely cheaper once your second year comes up (as well as having all of the other associated advantages).

SUNY = 1/2 the cost of private schools and a school like ESF has all the connects that a private school would. Plus the added bonus of having SU right next door is amazing. They have every major you could think of and I've used professors at SU as a resource multiple times. The courses at ESF are also some that aren't found anywhere else.

ESF is a SUNY school so the tuition is very cheap. I would say the bang for the buck is really big. The ESF facilities are very nice and the professors and classes are challenging, yet very high quality. ESF students also have access to all of Syracuse University's facilities, activities, and even some classes, while still paying SUNY tuition. Besides the overpriced meal plan through Syracuse, what you get for the money you spend is totally worth it!

Tuition and prices are going up but it's still a good price for such an amazing school